Transmission alternative for Mac: explore the best solutions of 2025

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Updated on: November 21, 2024
Time to read: 14 minutes
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There are lots of Transmission alternative software available providing provide the most feature-rich user experience. We are here to guide you through the best solutions and Folx is among the best choices.

Despite Transmission being considered one of the best BitTorrent clients for Mac, incidents in 2016 undermined its reputation among users. The security aspect of this project has been called into question, forcing Mac users to look for alternatives. Below we have gathered the list of the solutions aimed to help you with defining your best torrent client for Mac.

Top apps that can be an alternative to Transmission:
User situation:
So…Transmission alternative… Are there any other good torrent clients out there?
— Macrumors

Best Transmission alternative for Mac - Folx

As promised, we’re starting a list of Mac Transmission alternatives you can rely on and the first place on it goes to Folx. It is a reliable torrent client for Mac that comes with a wide range of handy features. You can easily prioritize downloads, adjust download and upload speeds, assign different tags to your downloads according to their content, and quickly search through downloads. What’s more, magnet links are supported, making it easy to download and share BitTorrent content.

Folx offers a free version and a PRO version. The free version includes all the basic features you need for downloading, while Folx PRO adds many advanced features such as download scheduling, speed control, and built-in search.

If you're searching for the best torrenting experience, try Folx – a free torrent client for Mac computers.

Pros

  • Password manager
  • Integration with Music (former iTunes)
  • Built-in torrent search
  • Downloads scheduler
  • No ads at all
  • Speed control.

Cons

  • Need to pay to unlock all features.

Supported OS: macOS

Price: free, Pro subscription prices is for $19.95 (one-time purchase)

Conclusion: Folx is one of the best torrent clients for Mac. There is a huge set of features, letting you manually select the files you want and download them at remarkably high speed. Built-in torrent search means you don’t have to search for torrents on other sites.

And smooth integration with Apple Music makes it easy to send content directly from a torrent to multiple folders, playlists, or a portable device.

New Folx 5: download manager & torrent client for Mac

Other Transmission alternatives for Mac

Folx PRO Vuze uTorrent Desktop uTorrent Web Transmission Deluge qBittorrent BitTorrent Desktop BitTorrent Web Tribler BitLord FrostWire Free Download Manager Web Torrent Desktop
  Prioritizing
Speed control
Deep tuning
Magnet links
Torrent search limited limited  limited  limited 
Torrent files creation
Smart tagging
Apple Music integration
Regular downloads
Native interface
macOS 10.15+
Price $19.95 $47.88/year $19.95/year free free free free free free free free free free free

BitLord

Transmission for Mac was a good app, however, it can’t really keep up with the modern solutions that appeared recently. BitLord is one of those solutions. It is equipped with a wide list of features for torrent downloading such as a quick search bar, the ability to instantly play videos while downloading, Chromecast support, and automatic subtitle support. Furthermore, just like Folx, it doubles as a download manager so you can keep everything in perfect order.

BitLord is an alternative to Transmission with easy-to-use interface..

Pros

  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Easily create playlists and organize downloaded content
  • The possibility to add comments to torrents.

Cons

  • Not all videos can be previewed while downloading.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, Android

Price: free

Conclusion: A very good Transmission torrents Mac alternative. This app does everything, including helping you organize the downloaded content.

Deluge

Deluge is a respected classic. It is a small app, way smaller than a lot of BitTorrent clients. It doesn’t have any ads or unwanted plugins, although it does offer support for plugins if you need them. It offers private downloads, scheduling, password protection, and various bandwidth options. The interface is clean and the app works well. You can monitor folders for files, and add them automatically.

Transmission alternative with cross-platform compatible - Deluge.

Pros

  • Very simple to use
  • Excellent collection of plugins
  • Cross-platform compatibility.

Cons

  • Potential minor UI issues
  • No updates of late.

Supported OS: Windows, Linux, macOS

Price: free and open-source

Conclusion: If you want to download a Transmission alternative for Mac, there are a few good points to Deluge. As open-source software, it’s free and totally free of ads. Unfortunately, it may not be the best BitTorrent client for Mac since the basic interface isn’t the most attractive option out there.

Free Download Manager

Free Download Manager (also known as FDM) is a powerful free download manager with many features and a user-friendly interface. It allows you to manage bandwidth usage, schedule downloads, organize torrent downloads, and resume interrupted downloads when your computer crashes or fails to download a file properly. Moreover, FDM can speed up your downloads and download multiple files simultaneously.

FDM offers a wide range of features and downloads torrents in one click.

Pros

  • Easy to use and clean interface
  • Completely free
  • Download torrent files in one click
  • Convenient bandwidth management tools.

Cons

  • Sometimes it takes a while to get download links.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, Linux, Android

Price: free

Conclusion: Being completely free, FDM offers all the features you need for an easy and convenient download. Using it, you can manage your downloads and organize them into categories, set a bandwidth limit, preview downloading files, and more.

qBittorrent

qBittorrent is an open source, easy to understand and use, and quite a functional BitTorrent client. It is free from ads and spam and has a basic interface. In qBittorrent, you’ll find all the key features you need for torrenting: an integrated search engine, sequential download, magnet link support, bandwidth scheduling, etc. What’s more, this torrent software gives you complete control over your torrents, allowing you to queue and prioritize torrents.

qBittorrent is free from ads and good alternative to Transmission Mac.

Pros

  • Fast search function
  • Search engine for your own torrent meta-search
  • Native RSS feed reader and downloader.

Cons

  • Basic interface
  • Occasional lagging.

Supported OS: Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, OS/2

Price: free

Conclusion: This is another open-source torrent client and has quite a lot of fans who are looking for Transmission Mac alternatives. As with lots of other open-source software, it’s slightly lacking in terms of advanced features. Another issue we’ve encountered is that it’s not uncommon for it to lag, which obviously has a negative effect on the user experience. The interface is also one of the more basic ones out there.

uTorrent

uTorrent used to be the best torrent client in the world, no matter if we’re talking about Windows or Mac version. However, the developers opted not to build a 64-bit app that would work on latest versions of macOS. Therefore, Mac users with the latest operating system are unable to use uTorrent anymore.

Despite offering a web solution, it’s just not the same and the features offered can not compare with what other torrent clients bring to the table.

uTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients, but does not work on the latest versions of macOS.

Pros

  • Well-known app with millions of downloads
  • Wide list of options for torrent downloads
  • Full control over bandwidth use.

Cons

  • Doesn’t offer download manager functionalities.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Price: free, version with Pro features costs $19.95 per year

Conclusion: uTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients in the world. The program owes its popularity to a pleasant and intuitive interface, ease of use, and a rich set of functions. However, the uTorrent client for Mac does not work on the latest versions of macOS since. Thus, Mac users should look for an uTorrent alternative for Mac.

WebTorrent

WebTorrent is a web-based torrent client, meaning you don’t need to install any software and plugins to use it. The Transmission macOS alternative is written entirely in JavaScript and uses WebRTC for peer-to-peer transmission. However, it causes lots of difficulties for an ordinary user that’s why the desktop version was created. WebTorrent Desktop is designed for torrent streaming, so you can play music, audiobooks, and movies right away without downloading them. Plus, it’s easy to use: you can simply drop a torrent file or paste a magnet link into the application window.

WebTorrent is a good web torrent client that can instantly stream and play video and audio right away.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Stream videos to AirPlay, Chromecast, and DLNA
  • Opens magnet links and .torrent files.

Cons

  • Lacks some more advanced controls.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, Linux

Price: free

Conclusion: Quite a good torrent client that can instantly stream and play video and audio right away so that you don’t need to wait for the download to finish. The client is open-source, free, and fast. However, it is currently in beta mode.

FrostWire

FrostWire is really an impressive tool to download torrents and organize all types of files. This Transmission app Mac alternative comes with a quick in-app search that combines multiple torrent search engines.

Furthermore, it also enables you to play and preview during download, and choose the specific files from a torrent you want to save on your computer. However, the most awesome feature of FrostWire is that it delivers the services of a media player and library builder, making it a complete app.

FrostWire is one of the Transmission alternative for Mac that delivers the services of a media player too.

Pros

  • Doubles as a media player
  • Can be used to build offline libraries on your Mac
  • Offers bulk downloads.

Cons

  • The user interface isn’t the most straightforward for beginners.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, Android, Ubuntu, TARBALL, .RPM

Price: free, donation acceptance

Conclusion: FrostWire is a truly remarkable app with lots of features and functions. Since it allows you to also organize the files you download, and play media within the app, it stands above all other Folx competitors as a Transmission alternative for Mac.

Vuze

If you know BitTorrent technology really well by now and are looking for something more advanced and detailed, Vuze is exactly what you needed. Formerly known as Azureus, it is quite popular due to its rich feature set and can replace Transmission app. This BitTorrent client allows picking up parts from torrent files, like a large audio torrent with various songs inside. Files can be sent to different target locations. Vuze is more functional than uTorrent and Transmission, but not as simple to use.

Vuze is one of the earliest torrent clients, a major reason why it is so well known.

Pros

  • Media playback
  • Supports magnet links
  • Plays media while downloading
  • Offers remote torrent control.

Cons

  • Can be quite overwhelming for beginners
  • Installs plugins without alerting you
  • Further development has come to a halt.

Supported OS: Windows, macOS

Price: freemium version, paid version is available for $47.88/year

Conclusion: Vuze is one of the earliest torrent clients, a major reason why it is so well known and used as a Transmission alternative for Mac. For a long time, it was a great option.

However, many users were irritated at the way it changed browser settings and added plugins without asking. These days, another issue is the fact that Vuze’s creators have moved on to other projects, meaning that this torrent client is not as good as it once was. Therefore, it is better to look for a Vuze alternative for Mac.

Tribler

A top torrent downloader for Mac users, Tribler does not need trackers to locate torrents. The peer-to-peer tracker is the feature that organizes the download and takes care of seeding and leeching. While the app does its best to be a decent Transmission alternative for Mac, there’s a lot of work to be done community-wise since it’s open-source software.

Although Tribler uses solid underlying technology, the mixed goals and priorities of the project do not meet user privacy expectations. Tribler is complex software and will not protect your anonymity if you use it incorrectly.

You can use Tribler as a Transmission alternative.

Pros

  • Offers preview for files during download
  • Compatible with the latest macOS versions.

Cons

  • The installation process isn’t straightforward.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows, Linux

Price: free

Conclusion: Instead of using the Transmission app, you can rely on Tribler for all your torrent needs. However, organizing the content once you download it needs to be done manually.

BitTorrent

When it comes to replacing the Transmission app, Mac users can also check out BitTorrent as a valid alternative. It’s advertised as ideal for new users and it also offers the possibility of streaming torrents while you download them. It also offers the option to download in bulk, as well as prioritizing downloads to speed up the process.

With BitTorrent, you can also manage torrents remotely and schedule downloads so they don’t interfere with your day-to-day tasks.

One of the best Transmission alternative with a lot of features in free version - BitTorrent.

Pros

  • Torrent health feature to help you download the best torrents
  • Remotely access the torrent and manage them
  • Assign which download gets priority.

Cons

  • Most of the top-rated features are only available in the pro version.

Supported OS: macOS, Windows

Price: free, Pro version costs $19.95 per year

Conclusion: BitTorrent is a great app that can be used by Mac and Windows users alike to download their favorite torrents. However, it could include more features in the free version so that users are convinced to invest in it.

Why Replace Transmission for Mac: Top Reasons

Transmission is quite a popular torrent client among Mac users. It offers straightforward downloading and all the essential torrenting options when it comes to how to use Transmission on Mac. It allows its users to download files from multiple peers on the web, upload their own files, as well as manage downloads. This torrent client can also seed (share) the downloaded content.

However, Mac users are looking for alternatives with more advanced functionality. And, luckily, there are plenty of apps out there that have a lot more to offer. Many of these programs let you directly search certain sites, customise your downloads more precisely, schedule downloads, and a whole lot more.

Another reason you may want an alternative to Transmission is security. In March 2016, the official Transmission website was hacked, and filled with ransomware. Once it got into users’ operating systems, this ransomware encrypted their data and refused access unless a ransom of 1 Bitcoin was paid. Transmission eventually solved the problem, but it’s definitely a reason why you should consider other alternatives to Transmission.

Conclusion

Summing up, we have reviewed several best Transmission alternatives to our mind, however, the list can be continued. All these apps have both advantages and disadvantages. So defining the best torrent downloader for Mac is quite a tricky thing. Nevertheless, we can recommend you try Folx.

The app offers great usability even with the free version facilitating downloading on Mac. And with the paid version you can explore even more features for comfortable torrenting. And what’s your best Transmission alternative for Mac? Leave the comments down below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Transmission is still available for Mac users. Besides, v4.0 is Apple Silicon Native.

There are lots of Transmission remote GUI alternatives. Among them are FrostWire, qBittorrent, Deluge, BitTorrent, etc. As for our top choice, we recommend using Folx, this is the best torrent client for Mac with lots of necessary features for fast and comfortable torrenting.

Yes, it is. However, you can find lots of info about the situation back in 2016 when the site was hacked with ransomware software being distributed. However, since that time the issue has been resolved. However, you should keep in mind that you may unknowingly download harmful files. So be careful when performing a Mac torrent search and downloading files from unknown sources.